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A question for those selecting the executing agencies
Dear Editor,
I make reference to the article captioned “ IDB, CDB get tough on its funded projects” that appeared in the Thursday May 31, 2018 edition of your newspaper.
Kudos to the IDB and CDB for taking the tough stance. But I’m wondering if a two-day workshop on integrity in the procurement process, though well intentioned, would have any positive effect on the day to day practices of many government officials!
While it is a necessary first step in the right direction, it is not sufficient. More needs to be done. I look forward to reading in your newspaper the concrete measures they are putting in place to prevent the pervasive spread of the ‘cancer of corruption’ that keeps countries like Africa, Venezuela and Guyana in a state of ‘persistent poverty and underdevelopment”. Is it any wonder that an American president refers to some of those countries as ‘….hole’ countries!
I would like to take this opportunity to single out for praise the CDB for requiring that copies of the applications submitted by applicants in response to implementing agencies Request for Submission of Expression of Interest be also submitted also to their office. Perhaps other funding agencies may find it useful to emulate such a practice.
What I would like to see happening, also, is that funding agencies like the IDB and CDB request that the implementing agencies submit to them the names, qualifications and ‘area of certified competence’ of the parties that will be conducting the interviews.
This is critical especially in the context of Guyana where so many high-level public officials are politically appointed and have only a first degree and very often in areas unrelated to the project under consideration.
I refer to the case of an applicant who has four degrees, including a Masters Degree, Project Management certification and over 10 years of Project Management experience and training by both the IDB and CDB, and who was interviewed locally by a panel of persons from an implementing agency. The members of the panel included the Permanent Secretary, the holder of a first degree, and two other representatives from co-hosting agencies, one of whom has a Diploma in an unrelated field.
Contrast that if you will with the situation where that very applicant was previously interviewed by an International organization for a similar position.
The panel of interviewers consisted of five persons, all of whom were holders of Ph. D degrees in the relevant disciplines. Four were published authors in their respective areas of competence and former Assistant Professors at various American Universities. They interviewed the Guyanese applicant and he was successful. The Guyanese panel interviewed the same Guyanese for a similar position and he was unsuccessful! How can one explain that?
Another concrete step funding agencies might consider taking if they are serious about corruption, is requiring implementing agencies to submit to them a detailed description of the nature and structure of the interview. What type of interview would be conducted? Would it be a competence-based interview? A behavioral-based interview? Where is the list of questions each candidate would be asked? Such a step, which is in keeping with the Best Practices of international organizations, would go a long way in preventing the appointment of misfits with the subsequent unintended consequences.
Finally, and this concludes My Wish List for all Guyanese Professionals who want an equal opportunity to contribute to the development of Guyana, the IDB and CDB should require the interviewing panel to inform beforehand interested parties shortlisted for an interview the criteria that would be used to evaluate their performance.
And the weight assigned to each criterion. UN Agencies and many other international organizations and Banks operationalize those Best Practices.
Is this too much to ask? Tough talks and strident exhortations to be honest in a 2-day workshop are like the blows of a hammer, they are always repulsed by the anvil.
Sincerely
(Name withheld)
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